God Can't Use Me
Debunking Christianity's
Number 1 Excuse
By Todd Uebele
"28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." -- Romans 8:28-30
As Christians, each of us has a purpose. Every single one of us. God knew from the time we were born, and even before, what that purpose would be. God knew that each of us would come to know Him, and as such has predestined that we are to be conformed into the image of His Son. The men's ministry at my church uses the acronym D.E.A.D. The "E" stands for "Evolving into the image of Christ." Every single one of us is evolving into the image of Christ. God had determined that before we were born!
That's not all! Not only are we evolving, or being conformed into the likeness/image of Jesus Christ, God has called each of us to serve Him. God has called every single one of us to help further His Will and His Kingdom. But wait a minute! you say? God can't use me! you say? Well, why not? God has not only called you, he has justified you so that you may answer his call of service. Many Christians feel that God cannot use them because they are not "qualified," or they are not "good enough," or that they have too much "baggage." Let's take a look at some of God's greatest servants and see what kind of "baggage" they had. Then, we will see that not only can God use each and every one of us, He wants to!
The Apostle Paul
Saul of Tarsus was a rising star. He was a brilliant young man, very well educated. He knew how to read and write, he knew the law like the back of his hand, and could pull out a scripture for any occasion. He was full of zeal and was a great debater. He had seemed like he was on top of his game. The only problem was Saul was on the wrong team.
Right as Saul was coming on the scene, there was this new movement brewing in Jerusalem. It was called "The Way." The followers of this "Way" seemed intent on blaspheme against God, and Saul approved of the death of its first martyr (Acts 8:1). Saul was such a zealous Pharisee that he was determined to squash this "Way." He set out to persecute any and every Christian in Jerusalem.
When I was a kid, I had this picture in my head of man going house to house, grabbing people by their collars, and dragging them through the streets off to jail. It likely was not quite like that, but Saul did arrest, jail and persecute Christians in Jerusalem. He was "breathing out murderous threats" against them (Acts 9:1). However, that was not enough. No, Saul needed to track these Christians down to where they had scattered to and drag them back. One of these cities was Damascus. He went to the High Priest in Jerusalem and received letters for the synagogues in Damascus, giving him the authority to take any members of The Way back to Jerusalem as his prisoners.
In was on his trip to Damascus that Saul's conversion took place. Saul was met by Jesus Himself. It was during this encounter that we learn Saul was not only persecuting Christians, Saul was direct persecuting Jesus Christ! Saul and his friends were traveling on that road when there was a bright light from Heaven. When Saul was surrounded by the Heavenly light, "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'" (Acts 9:4).
Notice how Jesus said, "Why do you persecute me?" Not, "my people," but "me." Also, when Saul asked who was speaking, Jesus replied, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (v 5). This is right inline with what Jesus told His disciples while He walked the earth:
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" -- Matthew 25:40
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'" -- Matthew 25:45
Whatever we do or do not do to God's people, we are doing to the Lord Himself. Saul, by persecuting Christians, was persecuting Christ. By Christ's own words, He was being persecuted by Saul.
Imagine that for a moment. Saul was persecuting Jesus Christ Himself, and Jesus turned around and used him to spread the Gospel all over the known world! That's not to say there were no consequences for his actions. "For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything" (Acts 9:9). Not only was Saul blinded, but he would also suffer greatly in Jesus' name.
Still, in spite what Saul did, Jesus used him immediately. First, preaching in Damascus for a few days, then Jerusalem for a little while. Then, after receiving death threats in each of those cities, Saul went to Tarsus. In Tarsus and later in Antioch, Saul was counted as a teacher and a prophet (Acts 13:1). It was in Antioch that the Holy Spirit commissioned him as a missionary, and it was on his first journey that he started going by the name of Paul.
Paul would go on three journeys for Jesus. Three times Paul went all over the known world to spread the Gospel, and then he would journey to Rome to face trial and preach right up until he met Caesar! During these journeys Paul labored tirelessly for the Lord, establishing churches all along his path. He went first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, winning souls for the kingdom. Even better than that, people Paul converted went out to win souls for Christ. Here he was, a man who persecuted Jesus Christ was now being used by Jesus to bring people into His Kingdom!
Not only did Paul establish churches all over the known world, he was constantly teaching them, encouraging them and edifying them. Whenever he could, Paul would stop by and visit the churches he began. When he could not stop in to visit, he would write them letters. When he could not teach them in person, he would teach them through his writing. His writing would later make up half of what we consider the New Testament. Imagine that! Paul, persecutor of Jesus Christ authored one fifth of our Bible.
Even though Paul hunted down God's people, God wrote through him to speak to his people, as well as to us today. Even though Paul tracked down and jailed Christ's followers, Christ used him to win people over into His fold. Paul, who was one of the most anti-Christ person in the world, became Christ's biggest advocate, and more, he became, in my humble opinion, Christ's greatest Apostle. If Jesus can take a man like Paul and use him to further His Gospel, just imagine what He can use you for!
I am sure each of you has reasons why you think you cannot be used by Him. I know I do. However, I feel confident in saying that none of you have persecuted Jesus Christ. Paul did, and that is about as bad as you can be, in my book. Still, Jesus used him! To me, this says Jesus can, and will, use anybody. It does not matter who you are or what you have done, Jesus can use you. It does not matter how bad your sin is or how deeply you sank, Jesus can use you. Sin does bring consequences; Paul was blinded and many scholars think he had trouble with his eyes for the rest of his life. Still, Jesus used him. Jesus can use you too. Jesus wants to use you. Turn away from your sin, lay it at His feet and allow Him to use you to help further His kingdom.
King David
Paul's main problem was that of anger. He was so angry with the believers that he breathed out murderous threats against them. Another problem that can be just as debilitating and set us apart from God is immorality. King David had a problem with this. Here he was, King of Israel, husband to multiple wives, and he had trouble being faithful to his marriage vows! King David had many wives, not just one, many, and he still was enticed to go outside marriage for sex.
One spring afternoon, as his army was off fighting the Ammonites, David was walking around on the roof of his palace enjoying the fresh air. While he was up there, he spied a very beautiful woman while she was bathing. He inquired who she was and found out her name was Bathsheba. She was married to Uriah, who was off fighting in David's army. David had her sent for, invited her to spend time with him, seduced, and then slept with her.
David was a married man; Bathsheba was a married woman. Still King David committed adultery with her. King David, a man after God's own heart, did evil in the Lord's sight. That's not all either. During their encounter, Bathsheba conceived and became pregnant. David sent for Uriah under the pretext of getting news from the front, and after receiving the latest news encouraged him to go home and lay with his wife. However, Uriah refused and slept on the ground by the palace gate instead. The next day, David got Uriah drunk and tried to trick him into going to his own home and lying with his wife. Again, Uriah slept on the ground by the palace gate.
Unable to cover up his sin, David had Uriah murdered. He sent a message back to Joab, his commander, instructing him to put Uriah at the very front, nearest the city wall, where the fighting was the fiercest and have the rest of the men draw back. Joab followed his king's orders and as a result, Uriah was killed. After a period of mourning, Bathsheba went to David's palace and became his wife. King David, who had gone outside of his marriage for sex, had impregnated another woman. Then to cover his tracks he had her husband killed and made her his wife. In a very real sense he stole another man's wife.
At this point, I need to come clean about something. If I am going to talk about the immorality in King David's life, it's only right that I be totally upfront about something in my own. In the first part of our "Fight the Good Fight" Series (Part I, The Enemy Within), I told you all about a period of my life where I went against Jesus. It was a time where I willfully sinned against Him, where I pretty much left Him "out in the cold," if you will. The thing is, in doing so, I tried to pull a fast one on God. See, the Lord told me to write about my past--I didn't really want to, but He said do it--so I did.
However, God did not say how detailed I had to be in relating my experience. As a result, I may have, sort of, possibly glossed over certain things, just a "wee bit." Well, nobody can really pull a fast one on God. You can try and He may even let you think you got away with it, but in the end, He will call you on it. A few weeks ago, as I was praying about a message I was to give at a men's breakfast at our church, God called me on it. He convicted me, and now I need to come clean with exactly what those "bars" and "clubs" were, and what it was I did at some of those places.
It's not an easy thing, dealing with your own sin. Especially when you think you have come clean and moved on. It's not easy sharing it either. I know what I am going to be opening myself up to. A good friend cautioned me on how open I should be--oh, how I wanted to take that advice! The truth is, I should have "come clean" months ago, but now God is giving me a second chance. From the last article, you know that I was very much living a depraved lifestyle. Unlike David, this was not a one time sin. No, this was something that had become a habit for me. After I had made my way near the bottom of the "slippery slope," I started visiting strip clubs with some of the crew of the ship I was on. Not just visiting, but frequenting.
Now one thing you need to understand about Puerto Rico is they have a completely different set of laws when it comes to those kinds of clubs. Most places in the U.S. mainland have very strict laws about how much women can reveal and what they can do. On the island of Puerto Rico, it is anything goes. The women bare all and will do anything go get those dollar bills. I am not trying to boast here. Believe me, I am not proud of what I have done, not at all. I am very much ashamed of what I did. However, as ashamed as I am, the truth is, I gave up many dollar bills to these women.
King David sinned with Bathsheba. He committed adultery. He stole and defiled a married woman. As a result, God took the life of the first son borne to him by that woman. Much like David I too sinned. I did not sin in the same way he did; physically, I stayed pure, but I did give in to the desires of my flesh, and spiritually, I was defiling myself. Just being at those places and watching those women was sinful and wrong. As a result, my relationship with the Lord was dead for over a year and a half.
In both cases the sin bore major consequences, yet in both cases, God restored us into His good graces. King David bore another son by Bathsheba who became the next king of Israel. David would later write that he was the apple of God's eye. Imagine that! David blatantly sinned against God, and yet he was the apple of God's eye. God used him and his descendants to eventually send His son to come and save us all!
It is through His Son, Jesus Christ, that I was able to be forgiven for what I did. It is by God's Grace that I am able to share this with you now. It is through God's Son, Jesus Christ, that you can be forgiven, no matter what you have done at any point in your life, and it is by God's Grace that He can use you according to His will and to further His purpose. You only need to be willing. If there is anything separating you and God right now, lay in out before Him. God will restore you, and if you are willing, God will use you to further His Kingdom!
CONCLUSION:
"God can't use me!" That excuse is all too common throughout the body of Christ. People seemingly want to be used by God, but claim they cannot be used by Him because of who they are or what they have done. Some people genuinely believe that. Sadly, some are taught that. Others, however, like to use it as a crutch to avoid work. Whatever your reason and whatever your excuse, I am here to tell you first hand that God can and will use you no matter what you have done.
That's not to say there are no consequences. Sin does have its consequences. Even though I was forgiven, I remained spiritually "dead" for about a year and a half. Further, it took three years for me to fully recover in my walk. It was three years until I was back to the point in my walk that I was before I fell. However, once I had been restored, God was able to use me. He used me as a "lay reader" on board my first ship in Navy. As a lay reader, I assisted the chaplain when one was aboard and took over the chaplain's duties when one was not (evening prayer, Bible studies, etc.). It was a minor thing, but given what I had done to Jesus, I was happy to be used even in the smallest way.
The only way to get right with God is to confess all your sin to Him, and then turn away from it all together. Be it anger, immorality, or anything else. If you continue to willfully walk in sin, you are severely hurting both yourself and those close to you. There are always consequences, and in some cases they are dire. The good news is, if we confess our sins to God, He will cleanse us and purify us! He "will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:9). We have to confess them though, and then repent. Then, we will be restored to the Lord, and He will be able to use us in ways we cannot even imagine!
God wants to use you. He would love it if you would allow Him to use you according to His Will. If there is something in your life or in your past that would prevent that from happening, then lay it at His feet. Go to the Lord in prayer, broach the topic of your past with Him. Repent; ask Him to cleanse you, to renew you and to conform you into the image of His Son. Then ask Him to use you. Offer yourself to Him as a living sacrifice and let Him know of your desire to serve. It can be something minor like being a lay reader, or it can be something major like David and Paul leading God's people. God can use you, and He wants to you use you! He wants to use each of us. All we need to do is "confess our sins...he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Then we too can be used by God to further His Kingdom!
